Saturday, March 26, 2011

There Is No Such Thing as "Miracles", Only Undiscovered Laws

In the history of the Nyungne tradition, many practitioners have been able to overcome incurable disease through the practice of Nyungne. We could say miracles like this literally do take place, although in the Buddhist understanding, overcoming great obstacles and disease would be considered blessings. A miracle is something else. It is the enlightened power that is demonstrated by enlightened masters. A true miracle in the Buddhist sense would be like the miracle of Milarepa entering into a little horn while his student, Rechungpa, sees him in his usual size yet he is inside the horn. Or like the miracle of Milarepa sitting on a lake and people seeing that he hasn't become any larger nor has the lake shrunk in size, yet he is completely covering it. These are real, enlightened miracles.
--from Buddhist Fasting Practice: The Nyungne Method of Thousand Armed Chenrezig by Wangchen Rinpoche, published by Snow Lion Publications
Buddhist Fasting Practice: The Nyungne Method of Thousand Armed Chenrezig